Text 28] Prayers by the Demigods 165

truly vipascit, learned, are those who have reached the platform of
understanding and observing the Supreme Personality of Godhead in
any condition of life. Premdfjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah
sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti (Brahma-samhita 5.38). Learned devotees
accept even conditions of distress as representing the presence of the
Supreme Lord. When a devotee is in distress, he sees that the Lord has
appeared as distress just to relieve or purify the devotee from the con-
tamination of the material world. While one is within this material
world, one is in various conditions, and therefore a devotee sees a condi-
tion of distress as but another feature of the Lord. Tat te ‘nukampaém
susamiksamaénah (Bhag. 10.14.8). A devotee, therefore, regards distress
as a great favor of the Lord because he understands that he is being
cleansed of contamination. Tesém aham samuddharté mrtyu-samsdra-
sdgarat (Bg. 12.7). The appearance of distress is a negative process in-
tended to give the devotee relief from this material world, which is called
mrtyu-sarsdra, or the constant repetition of birth and death. To save a
surrendered soul from repeated birth and death, the Lord purifies him of
contamination by offering him a little distress. This cannot be understood
by a nondevotee, but a devotee can see this because he is vipascit, or
learned. A nondevotee, therefore, is perturbed in distress, but a devotee
welcomes distress as another feature of the Lord. Sarvam khalv idam
brahma. A devotee can actually see that there is only the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead and no second entity. Ekam evadvitiyam. There is
only the Lord, who presents Himself in different energies.

Persons who are not in real knowledge think that Brahma is the cre-
ator, Visnu the maintainer and Siva the annihilator and that the different
demigods are intended to fulfill diverse purposes. Thus they create
diverse purposes and worship various demigods to have these purposes
fulfilled (kaémais tais tair hrta-jidnah prapadyante ’nya-devatah). A
devotee, however, knows that these various demigods are but different
parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that these parts need
not be worshiped. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (9.23):

ye "py anya-devata bhakta
yajante Sraddhayanvitah

te ‘pi mam eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pirvakam
